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Show Aunt Martha's Christmas By Alice B. Palmer ' tgl EMORIES of the long ago fM WA kept ringing like sleigu-rfo?rr sleigu-rfo?rr bells in the ears of dear old Aunt Martha as she P? sat alone In her favorite jsgjfr window seat by the side v&j&iP of some old-fashioned geraniums ger-aniums and pondered the fact of its being Christmas eve. She looked outside beyond the Icicles which hung like grim sentinels sen-tinels toward the snow-coated trees and heavy drifts heaped high by the wayside and she was reminded of the beautiful story of "Snowbound." "But in that home there had been people people and people, gentle and boisterous voices, everywhere." "This will never do," suddenly spoke Martha Graham, rousing her self and trying to shake, off the haunting memories. "I must prepare for a joyous. Merry Christmas just as if those people were really here." With a spirit of youthfulness beyond be-yond ordinary endurance, Aunt Martha dashed kitchenward, every fibre of her being enriched by the Christmas spirit The next moment she was busily engaged in preparation prepara-tion of all the holiday delicacies which she thought these people would like. Soon delicious odors of sizzling doughnuts and soft sour milk cook- ies, such as only Aunt Martha could make, were in evidence. When all was completed, together togeth-er with a pitcher of steaming hot chocolate, Aunt Martha sat down nnd realized that there were no p? ple to partake of her carefully prepared pre-pared delicacies. With a start, she realized that she heard voices, real voices, not visionary ones, but loud wild shouts coming from without. She could ' scarcely see through the blinding 1 snowstorm. Now she actually heard foot- steps! "It must be true!" thought Aunt Martha, as she threw open , the door. Sure enough there thej i were, her Imaginary "Snowbound' i people for whom she had been pre : paring the Yuletlde feast. 'Twas the Joyous carol singers. They had become lost In the snow- j storm and were almost frozen. I "Come In! Come in!" cried dear . old Aunt Martha. Then followed such a Christmas . welcome and greeting as they had never received before. Aunt Martha their hostess, sat at the head ol . the table smiling nnd beaming, pass . Ing her Christmas goodies and pour 3 Ing out the steaming hot chocolate She secretly rejoiced as she acceptet , the carol singers ts an answer t( f her loving thought of service or 9 Christmas eve. . Western Newspaper Union. j Children Like to Buy 7 Children take pride In being abl. to buy their own gifts for mem ber3 of the family and for friend: Often mothers find their lngenuit put to severe test to find idea enough to go round in the neces sary limited price range. e When Christ Was a Child It Is good to be children somt times, nnd never better than n 1 Christmas, when its mighty fount er nas a child himself. |